IAAF World Championships awarded Guinness World Record

The London championships has been awarded an official Guinness World Record for the number of tickets sold at any IAAF World Championships event.

13/08/2017 19:10

The figure recorded on the official Guinness World Record certificate is 701,889 but with that taken two days before the end of the Championships, it will be updated to reflect the over 705,000 eventually sold. Session 12 on the morning of Saturday 12 August was the best ticketed session at 56,620.

Held in the UK for the first time ever, 2200 athletes from 203 nations travelled to London while fans from across Britain and the globe poured into the London Stadium and onto the capital’s streets to make history.

The men's and women's marathons, held on Sunday 6 August through the streets of London and taking in some of the city's most iconic landmarks, attracted 150,000 spectators to its 10km looped course.

With a backdrop of Buckingham Palace, crowds also flocked to The Mall in their thousands to witness the first ever Festival of Race Walks on Sunday 13 August, which saw all four races held on a single day for the first time.

Arguably the unexpected star of the Championships was the official mascot Hero the Hedgehog, who brought laughter for those watching live in the stadium or at home during every appearance. Created by nine-year-old Elinor after a nationwide competition hosted by organisers and Blue Peter, Hero’s highlights can be viewed here.

With over three times the amount of applications to places available, it took the help of 4,500 volunteers, known as Runners, to stage the Championships. The Runners brought with them fluency in more than 65 different languages, helping spectators enjoy an engaging experience.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The IAAF World Athletics Championships really captured the spirit of London and will live long in the memory as another chapter in an unforgettable summer of sport in our great city. We’ve seen medals won and personal bests smashed, and there’s no better honour for London than staging the final championship races of legends Mo Farah and Usain Bolt.

“More than 700,000 people filled the London Stadium, beating all previous attendance records, while millions around the globe have been watching what has been a truly memorable World Athletics Championships."